Theft-detecting means



` Nov. 2o 1923 1,474,706

E. F. CARDELL THEFT DETECTING MEANSy Filed oct, .12 1922 Fig. l

E .Fi Capdu ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 20, 1923.

THEET-Dnfrnorrne MEANS.

Application mea october 12, 1922.v semi N0."5e4,'o55`.

To all Iwhom t may concern: Y

Be it known that I, EUGENE F. CARDELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence,` in the county of Providence and State of-Rhode Island, have invented new and useful Improvements in Theft-Dotecting Means, of which the following isa specification. Y

My Ainvention relates to a means for preventing theft, and is particularly useful in preventing the theft of automobiles, although it is adapted to be applied to any manufactured article,

The object of my invention is to mark each automobile or other article with distinctive identifying indicia, which cannot be altered without being subject to certain detection. Then every automobile of a given make is marked in this manner, ay thief will have great hesitancy in stealing it. An unlawful possessor of the automobile could not expect to go along undiscovered, since every officer of the law is furnished daily with the numbers of all stolen automobiles. It would be impossible to sell the stolen automobile because no intelligent perf4 The means by which I accomplish this oliject will be best understood in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

F ig. l is a side elevation of a fragment of an engine base having one form of my device thereon.

Fig 2 is a view showing another form of my identifying device detached.

In the drawing, the base 5, as will be noted, is marked with a number consisting of six digits, each digit consisting of exactly twelve elements or units 6, which, as shown in Fig. l, are in the form of beads cast with the engine casting.

In carrying out my idea, every e-ngine manufactured by a given company will be marked with a number having an equal number of digits, noughts being added at the lefthand side as indicated at 7, in order to make up the full complement of digits. Each digit, as above stated, consists of a certain predetermined number of like units or elements, in the present example, twelve, and obviously it will be impossible to change one. digit into another, as for example 1 into l, or 8 into 3, byremovingcertain of the beads, without leaving a deficiency inv the number of :beads required. Consel quently, if the number hadbeen altered,i"a

person who was familiar withgthe system of numbering the automobiles, would at once detect the alteration and know that the automobile had been stolen.`

In Fig. 2, is shown amodification of my invention, wherein each of the digits is made up of twelve holes 8 which may be bored in the cast-ing after the same has been set up.

It will be understood that the ways which I have shown for carrying out the invention are merely illustrative, and that other forms or characters may be used for making up Y' the identifying indicia, the main idea being to have the indicia on .each article of manufacture made up of a like number of characters, each character having an equal number of like elements.

lVhat is claimed is l. A system of identifying manufactured articlesj which consists in identifying each article with indicia made up of a certain predetermined number of characters,each character' being made up of a predetermined number of elements.

2. A. system of identifying manufactured articles, which consists in numbering each article with a distinctive number, each digit of which consists of a certain predetermined number of element-s arranged in a manner to form the digit. n

'3. A system of identifying manufactured articles, which consists in numbering eachartic-le with a distinctive number having a predetermined number of digits, noughts being used at the lefthand end of the numberto make up the required complement, each of said noughts and other digits con-l sisting of a certain predetermined number of elements arranged in a manner toform said digit. u

4. The combinationv with an article, of an identifying device formed integral therewith and consisting of a certain predeter mined number ofi various characters, each character being made up of a certain predetermined number of like elements.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own,

EUGENE r. eAnDELL. 

